Meghan Markle Subtly Paid Tribute to Princess Diana During Outing With ‘Father of the Bride’ Star

Meghan Markle carried a special accessory with her on Sunday that seems to be a nod to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana. Photos published by The Daily Mail show Markle out to lunch with a friend – actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley – and she had with her a custom Lady Dior handbag. Eagle-eyed royal admirers connected this to Prince Diana’s signature Dior bag, nicknamed the Lady D-Lite.

Markle’s custom bag was smaller than the one that Dior named for Princess Diana, but it was clearly the same shape and design. The bag has a simple top handle design with rivets that can accommodate an over-the-shoulder strap, or accessories. Markle’s also had a custom embroidery job along one handle, reading “DDSSOS” for “Duchess of Sussex.”

These handbags are not cheap, starting at $5,500 on Dior’s website. Presumably, Markle’s unique version was even more pricy. For many fans, it was touching to see Markle carrying a clear symbol of the mother-in-law she never got to meet. Princess Diana was so inextricably tied to this accessory that the designer named it after her before it was even released.

Princess Diana was first seen carrying the Lady Dior handbag in Septmeber of 1995, according to a report by Marie Claire. It wasn’t on sale to the general public yet, but it drew a surprising amount of attention once the Princess of Wales was seen carrying it. While royals often cycle through different outfits quickly, this bag continued to show up with Princess Diana time and time again, so that by the time it was released it was synonymous with the queen-to-be.

Commenters have pointed out that, while Markle never really got the chance to be a “working royal,” she still picked up the family’s habit of using fashion as a subtle signal, or to pay homage to the things she holds dear. She has been lauded for her attentive fashion sense, even after moving from the U.K. back to California and picking up her career in entertainment. Last week, commenters noted that the dress Markle wore to the ESPY Awards was a fun callback to the gown she wore to her own wedding reception in 2018.

Some feel that all this is a sign that Markle would have done well in the modern monarchy, but she was unable to try her hand. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed that King Charles III told him there was not enough money to pay Markle as a working royal in the same way that Kate Middleton and others are employed. He reportedly suggested that Markle should continue acting, which would mean long months away from her new husband and any children they might have together.